Walking in someone else’s shoes, a call to show love

“To Kill a Mockingbird” (by Harper Lee) is a great story and a wonderful movie. In this incredible story, Atticus is telling his children they need to “walk in someone else’s shoes before judging the person.” Everyone is fighting his or her own personal battle and until we understand the other person’s particular situation, we should not be pre-judging him or her.

This advice plays a role in sympathy and compassion because Atticus is teaching his kids to understand other people’s stories in order to have a compassionate heart towards them. He teaches his kids to have sympathy for someone, even if no one else does. Throughout the story Atticus encourages his children to consider others as unique individuals, all fighting their own battles and meriting tolerance and respect, no matter what station in life they abide in. The moral character shown in every interaction he has with others is the greatest gift he bestows upon his children.

It is the ability to literally experience the world from another person’s perspective; to walk in their shoes, to view life from their living conditions and to feel what it feels like to be that person.Empathy will help us take the next step to become an inclusive society. Inclusion starts with each one of us. Treating others with respect will go a long way. Empathy is what helps us to better understand what another person is experiencing, or, as the old saying puts it, to walk a mile in another person’s shoes.